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Excerpts from Abe Peña's  Memories of Cibola

All material used with the kind permission of the author, given to me personally.

from THE MOTHER VILLAGE
"Seboyeta is considered the mother village to the Hispanic expansion west into the land of Cíbola.

Around March 1, 1800, cart wheels squeaked and groaned, as thirty settlers and their families slowly made their way west from Albuquerque-Atrisco on the Río Grande to settle 'Cebolleta.' It was one of the first Hispanic settlements west of the Río Grande, and the first one west of the Río Puerco

In 1804 the village was attacked by Navajos and besieged for four days. When the Navajos could not penetrate the fortress village, they finally left. A short time later, fearing for the safety of their families, the settlers decided to leave and return to the Río Grande but were met by some thirty soldiers sent from Santa Fe with the promise of protection. They returned, and the village has not been abandoned since. Here are some of their stories

From Don Juan de Oñate, who carved his name on Inscription Rock at El Morro in 1605, to 1800 when Seboyeta was founded, little happened in western New Mexico. A Franciscan mission to the Navajos was started in Seboyeta in 1746, by Father Menchero, but within two years it was abandoned for lack of support or interest on the part of the nomadic Indians.

On January 23, 1800, Governor Fernando Chacón granted thirty bold colonists from the Albuquerque-Atrisco area a community land grant at 'Cebolleta.' Governor Chacón was very specific in his written instructions. He told them, 'possession of said place is granted on condition that you form a regular settlement and not abandon it under any pretext.' The original grant document with all the appropriate seals and stamps of the Spanish crown spells the name 'Cevolleta,' later spelled 'Cebolleta' and today, 'Seboyeta.' The settlers took physical possession on March 16, 1800, from Don José Manuel Aragón, the alcalde and principal justice, acting on behalf of Governor Chacón. He wrote in his report, 'The settlers today received the grant in community and the suertes individually and acknowledged same by throwing stones in the air, pulling weeds and shouting, God save the King, three times. Wherefore they hold and enjoy all the ownership over said tracts which I have distributed for such is the will of His Majesty the King.'

King Charles IV reigned over New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, and California through his viceroyalty in Mexico City. Not forgetting their religious obligations, the colonists asked the alcalde if the Catholic church, yet to be built, could be named Nuestra Señora de Los Dolores, Our Lady of Sorrows... Their request was granted, and by 1820 the church was finished. It still stands today. As a child in the 1930s, I recall playing in the shadows of the magnificent structure. It seemed like a monumental cathedral at that time.

Upon receiving the grant, the colonists set about building a walled village to protect themselves from the Navajos... They worked feverishly to build a secure village, with the back of the houses having no windows and forming the outside wall about 10 feet high. Two entrances with circular adjacent guard towers were constructed. One faced south and the other faced east. The foot-thick wooden doors at both entrances were hand-hewn of ponderosa pine. I remember as a boy playing in the tower we called 'el torreón.' It had circular steps inside that led to peepholes with a good view to the east. The towers are gone now, but to this day one can see part of the old wall that surrounded the historic village.

The nearby Laguna Indians maintained peaceful relations with the Hispanic settlers. Navajos, on the other hand, felt the continued encroachment was not in their best interest. The assertion of their territorial rights led to conflict. In part it was the settlers' fault. They often organized raiding parties to the west over the mountains and kidnapped Navajo children, then ran for their lives to their walled village. Young maidens had a value of up to five hundred pesos in the Albuquerque-Alameda area. They were trained to serve as maids and servants, relieving the patrón's wife from domestic work. They also became nannies to the children, who grew to love them dearly.

In 1804 the Navajos attacked and laid siege to the walled village. During the battle they threw 'hand grenades' made of pine pitch, in an attempt to burn the village. Of this encounter, Gary Tietjen, the author of Encounter with the Frontier, wrote,
At one point in the battle, one brave woman, Doña Antonia Romero, climbed to a housetop to see if all was well and was horrified to see a Navajo had just climbed over the wall... He was in the act of drawing the bar of the great wooden door, hewn from ponderosa pine, while swarms of Navajos were waiting outside for the moment to break in. Snatching a heavy stone metate Doña Antonia lifted it above her head and brought it down with all her strength on the head of the savage, killing him instantly. She thus proved herself worthy of her courageous husband, Don Domingo Baca... In the hand to hand combat Baca had seven lances driven into him. One cut across his stomach so wide that his bowels fell out. Grabbing a pillow he tied it around his abdomen and was able to continue fighting until the attack had subsided. After- wards he replaced his entrails and sewed up his own wound.

In 1805 because of repeated encounters and constant threats from the Navajos, a plea was sent to the governor in Santa Fe for their release from the covenant 'not to abandon the village under any pretext.' Without a response, they decided to leave, and on the way to Albuquerque, were met by thirty soldiers sent by the governor to protect them. They returned to Seboyeta. As relations with the Navajos improved and trouble subsided, Seboyeta became the Mother Village from which settlers founded San Mateo in 1862, San Rafael in 1865, and El Concho, in Arizona, in 1869."